Contra Dance!

Our Band for this dance:  RENEWABLE ENERGY with calling by Janet Shepherd.  The dance will be in the gym at the Birmingham YWCA.  Always LIVE MUSIC – Always TONS OF FUN.     We primarily do three types of dancing at FOOTMAD dances – contra dancing, square dancing and waltzes.  If you find yourself patting your foot or moving to good music, can walk and listen then you can do all of our dances. Of course you can improve your skills as you gain experience but nothing prevents even rank beginners from dancing and having a good time.  We do not require special clothes or skill levels at our dances.  Our more experienced dancers will gladly help you with all of our dances and we love to have beginning dancers attend Contra is traditional New England folk dancing. Americans have enjoyed contra dances since Revolutionary times. They combined ideas from French and English country dancing with their own way of having fun and came up with contra dancing. It’s a social dance akin to square dancing which has retained its simple, open, community-oriented spirit.  Contra dancing is great exercise and great fun enjoyed by people of all ages and life-styles. It shares some elements with square dancing such as “swing your partner” and “do-si-do,” but the couples form long lines rather than squares. It involves mixing with the other dancers as each couple does a set of other figures, called by a caller, with another couple before progressing to a new couple and repeating the routine.  Since the routine always repeats in contra dancing the role of the caller tends to diminish as the dance progresses.